Vancouver Canucks recap: Sedin twins couldn’t cap it off any better
By Alex Hoegler
Call it destiny, call it fate or call it pure coincidence. All that matters is how Daniel and Henrik Sedin ended their final home game with the Vancouver Canucks: An overtime winner that sent an eruption across the lower mainland.
With Daniel and Henrik Sedin suiting up for their final home game, Rogers Arena felt like a playoff game, and the Vancouver Canucks played like it was a Game 7 — and the twins got the perfect sendoff from their fans.
Rogers Arena was fairly quiet through the first 40 minutes, with the Arizona Coyotes jumping out to a 3-1 lead. But Jake Virtanen and Brendan Leipsic were determined to ensure this game at a Hollywood ending, and each scored a goal in the third to force overtime.
So when the Canucks went on the power play in overtime, it was a no-brainer for head coach Tavis Green to play the twins out there. You just knew the game was destined to end at the hands of Henrik and Daniel. At the 2:33 mark in overtime, no less.
Let’s just forget about #TeamTank. The Canucks would have fallen down to 29th with a regulation loss, but they now ensure that 28th is the worst they’ll finish. But the team can also finish as high as 26th, so their draft lottery odds won’t be great; nor will jumping up into the top-three.
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But nobody knows yet how the lottery will play out. And even if the Canucks don’t get lucky, let’s just think about this game. The twins spent nearly two full decades with this franchise. Slick setups. Overtime winners. Clutch moments. Sending the crowd into a frenzy. Rinse. Repeat.
In his final home game with the New York Yankees on Sept. 25, 2014, Derek Jeter had a walk-off single. You knew it was destiny, and it was the only proper way Jeter’s Hall of Fame career could end. So why not the Sedins?
Henrik and Daniel had a vintage performance together, which prompted the fans to chant “One more year!” in their post game interview with Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy.
Yes, they can still play, but they have no reason to second guess their decision. Not after the way they finished off their last game at Rogers Arena. Why come back when you can walk away with a signature moment like that?
1,070 career points for Henrik, and 1,041 for Daniel, per QuantHockey.com. And they just happened to each register some points in their final home game in front of a rocking crowd at Rogers Arena.
We fans won’t ever see anything like this, not in any sport. It’s rare enough for brothers to play on the same team in any professional sport. It’s ultra rare for twins to play in the same league together, and almost never are they teammates.
But the Sedin twins were an exception. Drafted together 19 years ago, they stood by the other’s side and built up this team into something special. The greatest twins in sports history will never be replaced, and we’re lucky the city of Vancouver was home to them.
Next: The Sedins are one of a kind and irreplaceable
There were plenty of epic moments created by the Sedin twins, but their most memorable may have been what happened on Thursday Night: The day an entire city bid farewell to the greatest players in Vancouver Canucks history.